Nest Thermostat update adds 10-day history, helps send chilly air through the home

There's a first for everything, including Engadget stories about software updates for thermostats. If we're going to suddenly start getting granular in our coverage of home automation products, though, we may as well start with the Nest, a device slick enough to make us use "thermostat" and "sexy' in the same sentence. Now that it's been out on the market for about five months, the company's issuing a software update that introduces a couple new features.

For starters, particularly fastidious users can now access a detailed 10-day history, showing precisely when and for how long their heating and cooling systems kicked in, as well as the reason for that shift (e.g., you manually changed the temperature, were away). Though you can't view all that data on the device's small, circular screen, you can look it up online or through Nest's iOS and Android apps. Next up is Airwave, a feature that uses your fan to distribute chilled air through the home after your air conditioner has turned off (you know, instead of letting one room get intensely, unnecessarily cold). According to Nest, that feature turns on automatically when the temperature is high and the humidity low, though we're hazy on the algorithm being used there. Rounding out the list, Nest has made certain settings easier to access, and the hardware itself will ship with redesigned connectors that purport to work well even without wall anchors. Save for that last bit, current owners can enjoy all these tweaks via a free software update -- fully automated, 'o course.

Nest Thermostat update with 10-day energy history

Nest Helps People Save Even More Energy with Updated Energy History View, Airwave

Ninety-Nine Percent of Nest Learning Thermostat Owners Have Setback Schedule, Compared to National Average of 10 Percent

Palo Alto, Calif. – April 5, 2012 – Five months after the launch of the Nest® Learning Thermostat™, Nest Labs, Inc. (www.nest.com) continues to reinvent the thermostat. The company today announced a number of new features, including an industry-first Energy History view that shows people exactly when their heating and cooling systems run throughout the day. Nest also announced a first-of-its-kind feature called Airwave™, which dramatically cuts energy used needed to cool your house to a desired temperature. These features – as well as several other additions – are bundled with the Nest Learning Thermostat and delivered to existing customers via automatic software updates.

"Nest customers across all 50 U.S. states are already enjoying energy savings," said Tony Fadell, Nest founder and CEO. "In fact, 99 percent of Nest thermostats have a setback schedule – compared to the 10 percent national average – which the EPA says can save 20 percent on heating and cooling costs. With our Nest-exclusive features, Airwave, Auto-Away and the Nest Leaf, we believe there are opportunities for our customers to save much, much more."

Updated Energy History View With the new 10-day Energy History, Nest owners can see exactly when – and for how long – their heating or cooling (HVAC) systems turned on and off, whether their energy use increased or decreased compared to the previous week, and the cause of that change (your adjustment, Away, or the weather). The visual display makes it easy to see how small adjustments to a schedule can make a big difference. For added convenience, an at-a-glance Energy History View is available on the device itself, while on the Mobile (iOS and Android) and Web apps, you can drill down within a day to see exactly when your system was engaged. Active heating and cooling time periods are conveyed with red (heating) and blue (cooling) lines and bars across a 24-hour timeline.

Airwave With the weather heating up, Nest is introducing another Nest exclusive: Airwave. After your air conditioner turns off, it stays cold for five to ten minutes, just like ice cream stays cold after it comes out of the freezer. Other thermostats ignore this simple fact, but Nest uses it to your advantage. Airwave shortens the amount of time the high-energy chiller runs and instead uses your energy-efficient fan to push that extra cool air through the home. Nest automatically enables Airwave when the temperature is high and the humidity is low. Airwave can save up to 30 percent of the energy used and the user doesn't have to lift a finger.

Easier Access to Useful Settings To make it easier to find customers' favorite features, Nest made several small but important changes to the user interface on the Nest device and mobile apps. For example, Range Mode, which toggles automatically between heating and cooling and is particularly useful in moderate climates, is now just one click away in the Nest Learning Thermostat's Heating/Cooling menu.

Installation Made Even Easier Nest research shows that most customers install Nest themselves, and three out of four DIYers install Nest in less than 30 minutes. Moreover, 99 percent of Nest DIYers would install Nest themselves again. To make installation even easier, Nest has revamped the press connectors on the backplate, moving them to the outer edge so even those with the clumsiest of fingers can install Nest with ease. And new custom screws have been engineered to work without wall anchors, saving people more time.

Pricing and Availability The Nest Learning Thermostat is available now for $249.00 (U.S.) at www.nest.com.